Comments on: Kendall Bailey, Paralympics Swimmer

By: Tish Quirk

Tish Quirk — Sun, 07 Sep 2008 01:30:20 +0000

We are all cheering for you, Kendall and Connie. You are solid gold!

By: Regan

Regan — Sun, 07 Sep 2008 01:09:10 +0000

Looks like Kendall’s event
Men’s 100m breaststroke, SB9
is scheduled for Wednesday, Sep 10.
Prelims/ 2 heats 09:00
Finals 17:00
Just FYI

By: Regan

Regan — Fri, 05 Sep 2008 08:02:21 +0000

Paralympics Games (September 6-17) Net multimedia coverage

Live footage will be available, free of charge, on the IPC’s Internet TV channel ParalympicSport.TV, as well as on YouTube ParalympicSportTV

The Beijing Olympic Broadcasting Co. agreed to provide live signals of 12 Paralympic sports: athletics, boccia, track cycling, seven-a-side soccer, judo, swimming, table tennis, sitting volleyball, wheelchair basketball, wheelchair fencing, wheelchair rugby and wheelchair tennis. In addition to the live events, ParalympicSport.TV will broadcast a daily news show, with additional highlights – including sports that won’t be live-streamed – available as video-on-demand.
A schedule of events can be found at http://www.paralympic.org

In the United States, daily live and delayed highlight shows will also be broadcast on UniversalSports.com.

By: aunt kathryn

aunt kathryn — Wed, 13 Aug 2008 22:27:20 +0000

kendall i love you and know that you are going to make all of us so proud when they give you the gold medal.we will all be watching this great event.ive held you special to my heart since the day i was there to see you born. I LOVE YOU

By: Alek Cunningham

Alek Cunningham — Sat, 09 Aug 2008 09:01:33 +0000

As a student working on my graduate program at Pensylvania State Univeristy, my worksace is filled with Kendall paraphernalia. I have watched he and his mother battle the beaurocacies with determination and moxie and I am proud to see his successfu, smiling face in the media. Kendall, despite his differences, brings back the true meaning of outperformng the self and finding the mnd-body connection.

By: Regan

Regan — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 20:23:36 +0000

I was prompted back to this story because the big girl’s competitive stroke is the breaststroke (not an easy one to swim at all) and the current Olympic trials in Omaha.
From this story,
“…But he blitzed through the water in 1:15.8 — winning the race, shocking the field and BREAKING his classification’s UNITED STATES RECORD” (my caps)
…
Shaw incurred $25,000 in legal fees trying to get U.S. Paralympics to drop its appeal and to sort out the matter of her son’s eligibility. In an interview at her home on June 8, she burst into tears at the thought of Bailey being rendered ineligible in Beijing, which the United States had told her was very possible. “It could take him under for life,” she said. “I mean it could make him a whole different person.”
…
“Just because he has other issues, he’s been looked at in a whole different way that hasn’t been fair,” she said. “He’s been singled out and isolated because of his autism, because of his intellectual disability. If Kendall wasn’t autistic, would any of this have happened? Absolutely not.”
————————
I can’t help agreeing with Mrs. Shaw and feeling somewhat aggrieved on her behalf because of the runaround and enormous expense that she was put to, esp. since the International Paralympic Committee felt the US request for clarification/appeal constituted a reach that was never in question. Will the family be reimbursed?

My hat is off to you Mrs. Shaw. Kendall, kick butt in your event. We’re rooting for you.

By: Alek

Alek — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 19:35:02 +0000

I worked one-on-one with Kendall from age 16-18 and no matter the activity, he pushed himself harder and stronger than most typical athletes. Prior to moving away, he was outrunning me and training harder than anyone else I had worked with.
Here is an ideal candidate to represent America, someone who sees an obstacle and says “I am not going to stop until I get over that!” And this determination only grows with each new challenge.

By: Bronwyn Kate

Bronwyn Kate — Thu, 19 Jun 2008 06:47:40 +0000

It is all because of the Spanish basketballers back in 2000.

Someone I admired at that time was Australian athlete Lisa Llorens, “The Cheetah”, so called because she personified the fastest animal. When I watched the Sydney Paralympics, it was so good to see an autistic athlete as well as someone who runs fast.

It would be great to have an autistic Olympics, like the Deaflympics, or at least sports which are accessible and competitive for us.

In the Paralympics there is a category called “les autres” which is (not exclusively) for people with (acquired) brain injuries.

It would be great to see Bailey compete, and all the other Paralympians in China. It will be a big experience for them.

The first three diagnostics given for Bailey would be all developmental disorders in most American social service systems.